Furnace for the manufacture of iron and steel



G. ADAMS.

(No Model.)

' FURNACE FOR TH'E MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL. No. 268,446..

Patented Dec. 5, 1882.

I /II/ llllllll lllllllllllllll 1/ 1 I I I v $2 s A I I'll UNITED STATES PATENT, FFICE.

CHARLES ADAMS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND STEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,446, dated December 5, 1882. r Application filed April 22, 1881. (No model.) A

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, CHARLES ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements for obtaining direct from the ore (and other oxides of iron) wrought iron or steel which may be rolled or forged directly into sheets or bars, as desired, and of my improvements the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in furnaces forthe manufacture of iron and steel; and it consists in the combination of a chamber for the receptionof the ore, having a tappipe and a removable bottom, a chamber, B, into which the waste heat passes, and a perforated pipe which conducts oil into the orechamber, as will be more fully described here inafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the furnace with the top re-' moved. Fig.2 is a horizontal section of the furnace on the line as y. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

A represents the ash-pit. and B the furnace,

which is provided with the door H, through which the fuel is fed.

At a suitable distance to the rear of the bridge-wall 0 is formed thechamber 0, which is circular in cross-section, and made largest at its upper end. This chamber rises through the bottom of the furnace chamber G, and is provided with a tap-pipe, O, which extends out through the side of the furnace, and a hinged bottom, I, so that its contents may be removed at any time. Passing through the'side wall of the furnace and into the chamber 0 is the pipe 1?, which has its inner end turned upward and is provided with a number of perforations, as shown in Fig. 1. The chamber G is provided with a door, G, for charging the chamber. a

D represents a flue leading from the upper chamber, G, to the lower chamber, B, which chamber B is provided'with a wall, F, reach ing from the circular chamber to the rear wall of the furnace, the object of the wall being to cause the flames and products of combustion from the furnace G to pass around the chamber 0 before reaching the chimney E.

The operation of my invention is as follows: coke, coal, or other material employed to form the bottom, is packed into the chamber 0 until it reaches the lines K, and the pulverized ore, mixed with carbonaceous matter, together with suitable fluxes, is placed upon the top of this bottom until it reaches the line Jl, when a covering of pulverized bituminous coal is spread over the top of the ore, so as to protect it from the flames, and upon the top of this coal is placed a thin covering of any suitable neutral slag that will not combine with the iron or ore, and which will not become melted so as to pass down through the ore before the operation is completed. The products of combustion pass from the furnaccchamber G down through the flue D'into the lower chamber, B, where it thoroughly heats the chamber 0 and passes around and back to the chimney E, as indicated by the arrows. Through the pipe P oil is introduced to the chamber 0, and as its inner end is embedded in the heated coal or coke in the chamber, the oil which passes through it is heated sufficiently to become converted into vapor before it reaches the ore, which is placed upon the top of the coal or coke, and this vapor rises up through the heated coke and ore without being forced into the furnace by a pump or other forcing device. Should any of the oil rise into the coke before it has been converted into vapor, the contact with the heated coke will convert it into vapor at once, and the effect will be the same. flow of oilthrough the pipe begins immediately after the furnace has been charged with 'ore and before the ore is hot enough to combine with sulphur and phosphorus, and is continued until the temperature of the ore reaches about 1,200 Fahrenheit, at which point it is maintained for about thirty minutes, and hence never becomes reduced sufficiently to sink down through the bed of coal, coke, fire-brick,

or other material upon which it is placed, though the flux does, and this flux is drawn off through the pipe 0. The vapor or gas acts as The squeezers.

gas envelops the ore and effectually prevents the action of sulphur and other injurious elements upon it during the process of reduction. This feature is one of great importance, as will be readily seen. When the ore is ready to be Worked, a suitable charge of wrought scrapiron is placed upon the slag, and this scrapiron forms a nucleus for collecting the reduced iron or steel under the slag. The reduced iron, adhering readily to the nucleus, forms a ball of any desired size, ready for the hammers or A nucleus can be obtained from the ore after the first ball is made, by detaching a small lump from it, and placing it back upon the slag, continuing the operation until all the reduced metal in the chamber is discharged.

I am aware that a covering of slag has been heretofore used to protect the ore from the flames, and this broadly I disclaim.

Having thus described my invention, I

it flows in through the pipe, substantially as a set forth.

CHARLES ADAMS.

Witnesses:

A. R. MANNING, H. D. GOULDER. 

